Phone Call
by Sapphiregirl
Summary: Since his days as a Zeo Ranger, Tommy's tried to put Kim behind him and move on. An unexpected phone call may help him do just that. TommyxKim
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Power Rangers...if I did, we'd have season box sets already.

_Relationship:_ T/K, mentions of B/K and A/R

_Spoilers:_ Zeo, Turbo movie, DT

_AN:_ I know there are already a gazillion Tommy/Kim fics out there, but I couldn't resist. While I actually wrote the entire first draft of this July 4th, turning into something I actually felt brave enough to post has taken me a little longer. At any rate, I'm finally getting around to finishing and posting some of the PR fics I've been developing. So, I hope y'all enjoy.

Special thanks go to Princess Kimberly for beta-reading this for me. Thanks, girl!

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Phone Call

_**Prologue**_

In the days following the reception of their Turbo Powers, Tommy's mind was more or less on autopilot. Not in battles, of course, but the rest of the time, he was thinking and his body was doing whatever it was supposed to do without any real input.

He knew it was pathetic, knew he should be moving on, but his thoughts kept circling back to Kimberly—and Kat. Divatox's attacks came too frequently these days for him to hole himself up in his uncle's cabin for a few days, so racing was his only outlet. The dark-haired teen stomped on the gas pedal, sending the bright red car he was driving hurtling down the track even faster.

Unwillingly, yet with strange fascination, his thoughts turned back to the most painful part of the whole experience—seeing Kim again. It had been wholly unexpected—especially given the circumstances—and it had brought a slew of emotions he hadn't been ready to deal with yet.

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he remembered again how his heart had nearly stopped when he realized Kim and Jason were trapped in the belly of Divatox's lair. And then his mind flashed to when Lerigot traded himself in and the horror he'd felt when two seemingly lifeless bodies were dumped off the side of that boat. He'd fought to get to them despite everything, fought to make sure it wasn't Kim drowning there.

Tommy knew what had happened to him.

Despite everything—the Letter, trying to put Kim behind him, trying to ask Kat out—his feelings for her still ran very deep. They weren't brotherly, either, whatever she might have convinced herself. A scowl flitted across Tommy's face. While part of him had been relieved he and Kim hadn't been forced to talk, the rest of him ached with dissatisfaction. "Why?" was still a burning question in his mind. "Who?" followed fast on its heels, not without a fair amount of trepidation. He wanted to know who Kim had found to replace him, and then again, he didn't.

_Not good enough_ reared its ugly head once again in his mind and he tamped it down viciously. He'd agonized for months over what he'd done wrong—what he could have done differently. Looking back, Tommy realized he had allowed ranger duties and the pile-up of regular life to distract him from Kim. His phone calls had grown farther and farther apart, finally dwindling off to nothing.

Her letter had arrived on Valentine's Day. How ironic.

Valentine's Day, a day for lovers—and also Kim's birthday. His mouth twisted into a frown. He had forgotten that fact in the shock of getting a 'Dear John' from the love of his life. His frown deepened. If he was honest with himself, he'd forgotten about her birthday before he ever set foot in the Youth Center that day.

Tommy turned the steering wheel, careening around the curve at the end of the track at breakneck speed. In hindsight, he knew he should have called her, should have demanded an explanation, should have tried to work things out. Kim had loved him once, of that he was sure, and there might still have been a chance for them. Heck, he should have talked Zordon into letting him pop down to Florida for a visit, or checked up on her via the Viewing Globe.

He'd done none of those things.

Tommy's fingers tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he forced himself to face the facts—the facts he had been trying to escape ever since that day. He'd been too afraid to try to contact her. He, Tommy Oliver, the great Power Ranger and Bane of Zedd's existence, had been too chicken to get a straight answer from the girl he loved.

That was also ironic.

Tommy forced himself to breathe and relax, concentrating on keeping himself from becoming a grease spot on the concrete wall encircling the race track. As hard as it was to admit, the bitter truth was that he hadn't wanted to hear her say she didn't love him anymore, or see the rejection in her brown eyes. He didn't think he could have controlled himself. Reading the letter had been difficult enough.

His thoughts wandered back to the Divatox mess and the shock of seeing Kim and Jason trapped together. He'd suspected, for a few horrible hours, that Jason was the man she'd fallen for. That feeling had been on of the worst he'd ever experienced and it made him feel guilty now that he had even entertained the notion. Jason would never go out with Kim behind his back. _Kim_ would never go out with Jason behind his back, though she could and did fall for somebody else.

When he got a chance to talk to his old friend—to find out the truth, however much it might hurt—Jason very bluntly informed him why the two had been together. He'd talked Kim into coming back to Angel Grove for the competition and they had gone scuba diving because they hadn't done it in years. Jason also subtly (for him) mentioned that Kim thought he'd fallen for Kat and the letter was her way of letting him go. The former Gold Ranger had apparently pried the information out of her.

Tommy was thunderstruck for a few seconds, but he had enough presence of mind to ask Jason if he'd met Kim's beau, if only to verify that she actually had one.

Jason had shrugged. "He's ok. He's not you."

The words still resonated inside him. _Not you._ What had Kim been looking for? What had she thought she was looking for? Had she found what she wanted?

In retrospect once again, Tommy knew he should have gone after her when it was all over. Whatever she claimed, it was quite clear she still felt something for him. He wouldn't have been able to get through to her under that spell otherwise and he knew it.

The whole thing was really just a giant mess.

Tommy slowed as he reached the pit. It wasn't likely that he'd see her again any time soon. The old familiar ache threatened to overwhelm him. He still missed her a lot. More than he ever thought he would.

Kat was a sweet girl. She was. He knew it, everybody knew it. He'd realized over the past few months that she had a crush on him. But he knew that a lot of his attraction to her stemmed from the simple fact that in many ways she reminded him of Kimberly. They didn't look anything alike, and their personalities were somewhat different, but sometimes little things she did triggered memories of the former pink ranger. It was especially bad during battles—there were times when he almost forgot it wasn't Kim fighting beside him.

It wasn't fair to the lovely blonde and he was well aware of it.

Still, he'd tried to put together a relationship with her, tried to convince himself that Kim had been a phase of his life he would eventually outgrow. Puppy love, that's all it had been. That's all it would ever be.

Kim was in the past.

Kat was the future…or at least the closest thing he had to a future right now.

It was time to move on.

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Well...what did y'all think? Next chapter should be out soon.

Cheers!


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Power Rangers...if I did, we'd have season box sets already.

_Relationship:_ T/K, mentions of B/K

_Spoilers:_Zeo, Turbo movie, DT

_AN: _I have no idea why this chapter disappeared and was replaced by another copy of Chapter 2. Very strange. Anyway, I've fixed the problem and I've also made a slight change to the end. Thanks to Just Jill for pointing out that the POV switch there was odd.

Special thanks also go to Princess Kimberly for beta reading.

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**_Phone Call_**

_**Chapter 1**_

_June 2004_

Tommy Oliver let himself into his new home, sorting through the mail as he shut the door behind him. There was all the usual junk; he rarely got anything actually worth reading these days. He dumped the whole pile in the trash can on his way through the kitchen and then tossed his keys onto the counter as he walked back to his living room. He loved his house and it thrilled him to no end to think about the secret, state-of-the-art lab lying hidden beneath his feet. Despite the hassle, there were definitely perks to designing and building one's own home.

He contemplated pulling a beer out of the fridge, but rejected the idea. It was too early, and with the mood he was in, it wouldn't help. He let out a sigh. Really, the day had started out so well. It was his birthday and he'd found out that Reefside High had decided in their almighty wisdom to accept his application and hire him as their new science teacher. They'd been so impressed with his credentials that they hadn't waited several months to tell him. He'd start in August...which meant he had the whole summer to do whatever he wanted.

He stared into the refrigerator moodily. It had started off as a really good day. Yet somehow, visiting the school had caused all his thoughts to trail back to his own high school days and the myriad poignant, happy, and painful memories they brought back. Kim and Kat had figured prominently in his mind throughout the day and he'd been forced to confront feelings and emotions he hadn't dealt with in a long time.

Taking a long hard look at the past few years, he traced the path he'd taken since high school. He'd tried to move on with his life and put Kim behind him, he really had. It was a high school romance. Puppy love. He should have been able to get over her with nostalgic ease. Needless to say, it hadn't worked.

Now that he thought about it, he decided that was rather ironic as well. She'd obviously been able to forget about him, but he hadn't been able to leave her behind and his life had metaphorically fallen apart piece by piece as a result. How one woman could do that to him was beyond his comprehension.

He and Kat had parted ways a few months after passing on their Turbo powers. The blonde Australian finally accepted the fact that his heart still wasn't completely free and she ended their relationship before either of them was hurt any further. The breakup had been hard on both of them, but Kat eventually found someone who loved her with all his heart. Tommy was happy for her. He was happy for both of them, actually. Billy, free of the aging disease that had forced him to travel to Aquitar in search of a cure, clearly adored Kat and anyone watching the two could tell they were meant to be together.

Tommy shucked his dress coat, dropping it over the back of the recliner in his living room, and rolled up his shirt sleeves. The years had passed more quickly than he would have liked and Kimberly's path seldom crossed his. He knew he should have called her, should have at least tried to remain a friend, but he'd been afraid of intruding into her life and have her shut him out forever as a result. In the end, apathy was the smoothest course. It was easy to rationalize that he didn't have to feel badly about not keeping in touch because she didn't keep in touch with him either.

Tommy's brown eyes were drawn to his bookshelf, where a scrapbook containing clippings of her was carefully stored. 'Carefully' meant it was shoved in with a collection of rather dry books on paleontology to keep it from prying eyes. His friends meant well, but they read too much into things at times, and a scrapbook on Kim would have been ribbing fodder for the rest of his life. He'd been following her career for the past few years, collecting articles, interviews, and the rare photo. It didn't look like she had changed much. After the Pan Globals and the Olympics, she had taken a job promoting a fashion line and she had ended up making a career out of it.

He rubbed his chin. It was stupid of him to be encouraged—Hayley would say it was incredibly hopeless—but none of the information he'd seen anywhere ever mentioned anything about a boyfriend or a husband. Besides, the Ranger Grapevine was still very much alive and he was fairly certain he would have heard if Kimberly had gotten married, even if he wasn't invited.

He sat down on the couch and kicked his shoes off, thinking back to the last time he'd seen her. If he remembered correctly, it had been at Billy and Kat's wedding a few years before. She had seemed rather cheerful, what little he'd seen of her. He chuckled slightly. At the time, he and Hayley had been dating, which meant none of his meddling friends (who always meant well but were often extremely annoying) could attempt to play matchmaker.

The two of them had spent the evening at opposite ends of the room, but somehow they'd been drawn to each other just the same. Inevitably, he'd bumped into Kim near the punch bowl. Literally.

Tommy almost smiled. At least he hadn't spilled anything on her dress. In retrospect, he wished they'd had time to chat, but he'd been a man on a mission. Hayley was waiting for her drink. They'd said hello and then gone their separate ways.

Even now, Tommy still thought he'd seen something flit through Kimberly's brown eyes at that moment, something like regret and longing mixed together. Whatever it was, it had vanished instantly and she disappeared back into the crowd. He hadn't seen her the rest of the night. Shaking his head slightly, he took his glasses off and laid them on the end table beside him. He rubbed his eyes, a sardonic smile on his face. Since this day was the day to be brutally honest with himself, he had to admit that it was entirely likely the whole thing had just been his imagination.

He opened his eyes and the dark, empty screen of the television sitting on the other side of the room stared him in the face. Tommy heaved a sigh. It was downright pitiful that it was Friday night and he didn't have anywhere to be. His love life was practically nonexistent these days.

His cell phone rang just then and he fished it out of his pocket. The thing was so small he often forgot to take it out when he came home. He glanced at the caller I.D. before hitting the talk button, but it offered no clues. The name was listed as 'private' and he didn't recognize the number. _Probably a telemarketer._ His parents had already called and wished him a happy birthday, and he couldn't think of anyone else who'd be calling him. "Hello?" He reached down into the couch cushions for the remote—he distinctly remembered it slipping down there that morning before he'd left.

"Hi, Tommy," a slightly hesitant voice answered.

He froze. _Speak of the devil_. "Kimberly?" Disbelief colored his voice.

"Yeah," she said ruefully. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," he answered automatically, mind still reeling. Kim had called him after all this time. What in the world had happened? Was he dreaming? Was he sane? He pinched his arm. _Not dreaming. Can't rule out the insanity issue though._ He clutched the tiny phone with a tighter grip.

There was a slight pause on the other end and then Kim said in what she hoped was a calm voice. "Congratulations."

"Uh...thanks." Tommy wasn't sure exactly what she was congratulating him on or for…he didn't recall telling anyone other than his parents about his new job...but he was actually talking to her and hearing her voice again, so it really didn't matter. She could have been telling him the price of tea in China and he wouldn't have cared. After having to deal with losing her all over again throughout the day, talking to her was...just...just...he didn't even have words to describe it. He'd never expected it.

"I'm sure you and Hayley will be really happy together." Kim tried to put as much sincerity into the words as she could. He'd never know how much they cost her to say, or how long she had sat staring at the phone and chewing her nails, or hard it had been to resist the urge to hang the phone up when he answered.

A frown crossed Tommy's face, sweeping aside all of the thoughts bouncing around in his brain. "What are you talking about?"

Doubt crept into Kim's mind and on the other end of the phone line, her face began to flush. She had a sudden, horrible sneaking suspicion that she'd been had. Aisha's grinning face swam through her mind's eye. "Aren't you and Hayley—" she struggled to get the words out in her rising embarrassment, "Aren't you getting married?"

There was dead silence for two seconds before Tommy threw back his head and laughed. Kim twisted the cord of her phone around in her fingers nervously while he guffawed, feeling worse and worse by the second. This had been a really bad idea. _Aisha is so dead._

"No," he gasped out after a moment, "We're not—it's not like that." A stray corner of his mind wondered childishly how she'd react if he'd said yes, but he ignored it. "We're good friends, nothing more. Where did you hear we were getting married?"

Kim's voice was so low he barely heard her. "Aisha."

"Who?"

"Aisha," she mumbled, slightly louder.

"She must have made a mistake." Tommy tried to hold back the amusement in his voice. He'd have to thank the feisty African American woman. He didn't know if she'd done it on purpose or not, but he'd definitely have to thank her.

"I'll say," Kim muttered beneath her breath.

"What?"

"I said she must have." Kim's voice took on a distant tone as she struggled to control the whirlwind of emotions coursing through her. "Well, happy birthday anyway."

Still staring at the empty television screen, his search for the remote quite forgotten, Tommy knew the sudden pause in the conversation meant she was getting ready to go. "Don't hang up, Kim," he said impulsively.

"What?" Kim's heart jumped into her throat. After embarrassing herself so thoroughly, all she wanted to do was throw her stupid phone out the window, bang her head against the wall, and scream.

"Don't go yet," he pressed, feeling that he had to grab this chance at reconciliation before it fluttered away. "It's been a long time. How are you doing?"

She tried to get her pulse back to normal and resisted the urge to chuck her phone anyway. "I've been doing good, I guess."

"Still at that fashion company?"

Surprised washed over her. "How'd you know about that?"

_Oops,_ he thought. "Read about it in the paper. Not to mention Jason won't shut up about you." His voice held a wry note. "Your surrogate brother is very proud of you."

"Oh." She digested that before saying, "How are you? How're...things...going?"

He caught the drift. "They're good. I'm still retired." A half-smirk crossed his face. Apparently he wasn't the only one Jason (or Aisha, or somebody) was keeping informed.

Kim snorted. "We'll see how long that lasts." She was kidding of course, after the events of the whole Serpentera thing, his Zeo powers had to be long gone. _And it's not like another set of powers are just going to drop in his lap._ Tommy laughed and she smiled, some of her edginess draining away.

"Very funny, Kim."

They chatted for a long time, catching up on the whereabouts of their friends and whatnot, and discussing jobs. A great deal had changed since the last time they saw each other. Despite his attempts to push them into the background, all of Tommy's questions began to clamor for attention. They were deliberately skirting the real issues. He shoved his errant thoughts out of his mind. A phone call wasn't the right time to bring everything back up.

Finally, Kim reluctantly told him she had to go. Before he could stop himself and think twice, Tommy blurted out, "Would you have dinner with me next week?"

Kim's mouth went dry and butterflies began flitting about in her stomach. "You're three hours away." It was an inane excuse and she knew it, but this conversation had been the last thing she'd expected. Panic threatened to hit her over the head. _I don't think I can handle seeing him again..._

Tommy shrugged, his gaze fixed on the wall in front of him. "I'll drive." _Please say yes._

She felt guilty. "That's a long way, Tommy, and with gas prices the way they are... how about I meet you half-way?"

"Nope." He shook his head, forgetting that she couldn't see him. "I don't start work until the fall semester so I've got free time. Besides, I've been meaning to go somewhere for a while for a change of scenery."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Tommy's voice was confident. He could do this. They'd have dinner and maybe he could get some answers. "How does Friday sound?"

"I'm free." Kim fought to keep a waver out of her voice.

_Good. _"Have any favorite restaurants?" She listed a few places and Tommy nodded to himself.

"Do you need my cell phone number?" Kim asked hesitantly.

"Please."

She told him and he jotted it down on his hand, for lack of any paper, thankful he had a pen in his shirt pocket. He made a mental note to keep something—anything—on hand to write on in the future.

Kim chewed on her lip, doubt filling her brown eyes. "Tommy," she said in a rush, her grip on the phone turning her knuckles white, "Really, you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do, Kim. I want to."

The quiet conviction in his voice silenced her. "Well," she said awkwardly, after a moment. "Let me know when you get in."

"Will do. Take care, Kim." He meant it.

"You too. Bye."

Tommy leaned back against his couch, still holding the phone and ignoring the dial tone now beeping in his ear.A goofy smile stretched across his face. They hadn't talked like that in years and it felt good. It had felt like they slipped back into a familiar routine for a little while; a different routine, to be sure, but still familiar. It made him realize again how much he'd missed her. They'd always had an ability to talk about anything and everything.

He set the cell phone on the end table beside him and locked his hands behind his head, still smiling. He was glad she'd called…asking her to dinner felt like the right thing to do. Tommy closed his eyes. Maybe this was a chance for them to get through everything and move on with their lives. His mind started to consider the possibilities and he cut them off abruptly, not wanting to delve into that pool of broken dreams again.

All he wanted was to get on with his life.

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Kim hung up her phone and leaned her head back against the kitchen cabinet. She had a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. _This is it._ He was going to drag up all that stuff and demand an answer...she could feel it. Kim gulped. At least he wasn't getting married. _That'ssomething to be thankful for_. She immediately smacked herself for the thought.

Then she glanced at the clock and her jaw dropped. "We were on the phone for two hours?" They hadn't done that in years. She chewed on her lower lip, trying to figure out if the fact that they could still lose track of time was a good thing or not.

She didn't know--and the fact that she didn't know scared her.

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Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you thought! 


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Power Rangers...if I did, we'd have season box sets already.

_Relationship:_ T/K, mentions of B/K

_Spoilers_: Zeo, Turbo movie, DT

_AN:_ I wasn't happy with this chapter for a long time, but I think I've finally gotten it to where I'm satisfied. Sorry it took so long--between working, writing my book, and everything else happening, I haven't made much time for fanfiction. Also, since changed their policy, I can no longer reply to reviews inside chapters. Instead, I'll be using the handy-dandy little reply button they've installed.

Special thanks to Princess Kimberly for beta-reading.

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_**Phone Call**_

_**Chapter 2**_

Kim had been edging close to a nervous breakdown all day.

She'd woken up that morning and the realization of what was happening later hit her like one of Zedd's putties. Come to think of it, she'd almost prefer to be fighting for her life. It beat emotional trauma flat.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror on her bedroom wall as she made her way out to the living room, checking to make sure her hair hadn't suddenly decided to do something crazy. She'd agonized over what to wear for hours and if something happened now…well…it wouldn't be pretty. She hadn't wanted to look too casual, but she hadn't wanted to look too dressed up either. _It's not a date._

Kim settled on the couch, feeling a mass of butterflies roiling inside her stomach. Tommy had called a few minutes before to confirm he had the right directions and she was still berating herself for the way her pulse quickened at the sound of his voice. She tugged at the skirt of her lavender dress. It had seemed best to stay away from her signature color and her little black dress was definitely out. _It's not a date_, she repeated to herself. _You don't have any right to feel this way after everything that had happened between you_.

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Tommy dropped his suitcase off at the motel where he was staying and cleaned up a bit. In the parking lot, he surveyed his Jeep ruefully. It was, he realized, not exactly the best vehicle for an evening date at a more-or-less fancy restaurant. Kim might not like the wind messing her hair up. Then again, he reflected, she might not mind. He wasn't sure how she'd react anymore and the thought saddened him. They used to know each other so well. 

He called her one more time to get directions and the slight tremor in her voice told him she was nervous too. Some of his fear slipped away; her anxiousness was oddly reassuring. _This is the right thing to do,_ he told himself again.

When he pulled up at the parking lot to her apartment, Tommy felt his palms begin to grow damp. He wiped them off on his pants and told himself to stop being ridiculous. This was Kim.

A very dry voice in the back of his head told him she was precisely why he was nervous. He scoffed. _I'm a grown man. She's a grown woman. We can get through this like adults._ He looked up at the building. _I hope._

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Kim jumped when her door buzzer sounded and cursed herself for being so jumpy. She crossed to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. Tommy stood on her doorstep, hands clasped loosely behind his back. He smiled at her. "Hey." 

"Hey, yourself. Come on in," she said, feeling slightly breathless. She swung the door wide open and moved aside.

"Thanks." Tommy stepped through and Kim shut the door behind him. He glanced around. Her apartment had a comfortable feel to it…and he would have known immediately this was where Kim lived.

"Thanks." She smiled. "I redecorated a while back—needed something more cheerful." "Let me grab my purse." She disappeared down a short hall, shaking her head at her own foolishness. _How_ had she managed to forget it?

"No problem," he called out, still looking around. The main theme appeared to be white. It lent a crisp, fresh openness to the rooms that made them look bigger than they actually were. Accents of pink and green in several light and dark shades spruced things up, corresponding to her curtains, which were pale pink silk with slightly darker pink roses dotting them.

Tommy wandered over to the other end of the room, bending over slightly to examine the array of pictures spread out on a low-slung table. A faint smile curved his lips as he looked over pictures from their high school days. They'd all looked so happy then, even though they were risking their lives on a regular basis.

He froze when he spotted a very familiar photo shoved partly towards the back. He glanced over his shoulder; Kim was nowhere in sight. He picked it up slowly and looked at it.

Tommy remembered the day the photo had been taken very well; he'd stared at that photo and brooded for weeks after they split up, wondering how everything could have gone so wrong. Aisha had snapped it at a start-of-the-summer-vacation picnic they'd thrown in the park the year before Kim left for Florida. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

The two happy kids in that picture didn't know how drastically things would change for them. They didn't know that separation loomed over their heads and that they'd go from being two people in love to two people who hadn't really talked to each other in years. His younger self didn't know he'd lose her and the Kimberly in the photo didn't know she'd fall out of love with him and break his heart. His eyes traced the lines of her face, dwelling on the exuberant sparkle and life in her eyes that was pure Kim.

Gently, he set the photo back down, standing it up carefully on the smooth wooden surface of the table. If he could go back to that time, knowing what he knew now, he probably would have never let her leave for Florida. _Stop it,_ he chided himself. _You talked her into going, into living her dreams. You let her go and she didn't come back._

_You didn't fight for her either._

Tommy lowered his head and another picture caught his eye. It was smaller than the one he'd just set down and was partially hidden behind a couple of larger frames of Kimberly and her family at the back. He let the questions raised by its location slide and reached for it.

His breath caught in his throat. Kim stood with another guy's arms locked around her, much as she had stood with him. Tommy raked his dark eyes over the man. For the first time, he saw what his competition had looked like. The guy had sandy brown hair, green eyes, and a crooked smile. Grudgingly, he admitted he could see why a girl might be interested in him. What had attracted Kim?

More hesitantly, Tommy looked at Kimberly. The same mega-watt smile adorned her face, but there was something different about her. Something wasn't right.

Tommy frowned, trying to figure out what it was. She hadn't drastically lost weight, her hair was pretty much the same, her smile was the same, and her eyes…. Realization dawned on him. Her signature energy and light for life didn't shine out of her eyes anymore. In fact, come to think of it, that smile didn't even reach her eyes. What had happened to her? He flipped the picture over, but there was nothing but the back of the frame.

He felt eyes on his back and turned around. Kim stood in the doorway watching him, her face expressionless. "Sorry, he said, putting the photo back where he'd found it without letting her see which one it was. "Hadn't seen any pictures of the gang in a while."

She nodded, but inside she was panicking. _I left pictures of Brian and me out….and pictures of us….he's going to start asking questions, I just know it._ She hoped he hadn't been looking at them too long. _Please, let us at least get through dinner._

Tommy ran a hand through his short locks. "Ready?"

Kim nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak yet. She tried to ignore the fact that Tommy's gaze slid over her and resisted the urge to fiddle with her hair. _Speaking of hair… I still miss his long hair_, she thought wistfully, shooting him a surreptitious glance out of the corner of her eye, _but he pulls off short hair rather well_

Tommy offered her his arm and gave her a smile showing more confidence than he actually felt. "Shall we?"

* * *

He was pleasantly surprised she didn't seem to mind that her hair would be slightly mussed on the way. They conversed almost comfortably en route to the restaurant and Kim had to smile when she saw which one it was. "I didn't know you liked Greek food." 

He shrugged. "Only started in the last couple of years."

Dinner was a maze of light, chatty conversation that covered everything but the subjects they really wanted to discuss—or avoid.

Finally, Kimberly took a deep breath and set her fork down. "Thank you for dinner, Tommy." She gestured with one hand. "It was wonderful."

"My pleasure." His attention fastened itself on her firmly. _She isn't saying goodnight now, is she?_ A wave of disappointment threatened to wash over him. He didn't want this to end just yet. Not until they cleared the air._  
_

Kim's eyes wandered to the table and the napkin she was twisting in her fingers before traveling back to his face. There was a cold lump in the pit of her stomach. She really might as well lay everything on the table. "I know what you really want to talk about Tommy." She glanced away, shaking her head slightly. Tendrils of brown hair curled around her neck. "We're overdue for this conversation anyway." She met his dark eyes and found the courage to continue. "I'd rather not talk about it here though."

Tommy nodded, taking in the hesitation, doubt, and…fear in her brown eyes. "I agree. Your place?" Things might go more smoothly if she was somewhere she felt comfortable and a motel room wasn't likely to provide comfort. Quite the opposite.

"Sounds good."

Tommy called for the check, paid and escorted her back to his Jeep. They drove in silence, both deep in their own thoughts.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Tommy jumped out and rounded the car to her side. He opened the door and while she got out without a word, she gave him a tiny smile of thanks. _Still a gentleman._

Once the door to her apartment had clicked shut behind them, Kim tossed her wrap onto the dining room table and motioned slightly to her living room. "Sit anywhere you like."

Tommy settled himself in a comfortable easy chair. Kim curled up in the corner of the couch. She looked small and vulnerable for a moment, before she visible mustered her courage and looked up at him. "What do you want to know?" she asked quietly. "Where do I start?"

He had to clear his throat before he could answer; it had mysteriously closed off on him. Somehow he'd never quite been able to convince himself that this day would really come. Now that it had, the one question always lurking in the back of his mind came to the forefront. "Why?"

Kim couldn't even begin to identify all the conflicting emotions coloring that one, husky word. She spread her hands and said simply, "There are so many answers to that question."

"Then I'll be more specific. Why did you send that letter? Why did you send it to the Youth Center, of all places?" Tommy tried to keep his voice even. This had happened years before. He could be objective, couldn't he? His voice dropped further. "Why—why did you fall out of love with me?"

Kimberly bit her lip and a harsh chuckle escaped her. When she spoke, her voice was very quiet. "Oh, Tommy, that's the million dollar question, isn't it?" She shook her head and bit her lip. He wanted the honest truth—the least she could do was give it to him no matter how hard it was to put everything into words. "I thought you didn't care about me anymore—I thought you were falling for Kat and I didn't want to tie you down."

She ignored the shock on Tommy's face and continued, gesturing with her hands, "I hadn't heard from you in a long time and I was lonely, and there was this guy who had a crush on me. He was really sweet and I—I thought I fell in love with him." The words came tumbling out of her, pouring out from the place she'd locked them away so many years before. "So I wrote the letter. Calling you, ah, hadn't exactly worked out."

Tommy struggled to take it all in and his mind shoved aside the details to focus on two things. "You thought I didn't care?" His voice rose, tinged with incredulousness. "You thought I fell for _Kat_!" _Jason was right,_ he thought numbly.

"Didn't you?" she shot back defensively, meeting his molten chocolate gaze briefly. "I admit sending the letter to the Youth Center was a bad idea, but you never tried to contact me after that. I figured you were happy with her and didn't need me anymore." She smoothed out an invisible wrinkled in her dress and attempted to make her voice light and airy, trying to inject casual realism into the conversation. "Mom always said teen romances never last. I guess we found out the hard way."

Tommy's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Kim, I swear, I didn't fall for her until after you broke up with me. Besides," he added pointedly, "She's happily married to Billy now, remember? We can't have been that in love."

Kim looked way, willing herself not to cry. She would not break down in front of him. "You never wrote me or tried to call. What was I to think but that you'd moved on?" Memories flitted past her mind's eye and anger flashed through her face. "I could have made the whole thing up and lied to you and you'd have never known the difference! You wouldn't even have known because you never tried to find out!"

Tommy's face went white. He didn't know which was worse—the thought of her finding another guy or the thought of her lying about it. "Did you?" he asked hoarsely, just to be sure. He didn't think it was true—after all, there was a picture of the guy sitting on her coffee table and Jason had actually met him—but he didn't think he could handle too many more surprises tonight.

Kim met his gaze squarely. "Lie? No."

He just stared at her, dark eyes boring straight through to her soul.

Silence reigned for a moment, before Kimberly glanced away and shifted in her seat. "I never meant to hurt you," she said hesitantly. "Jason told me I'd broken your heart, and well, I didn't believe him at first, but…." she bit her lip again.

Tommy continued to stare at her.

Kim forced herself to take a deep breath and meet his eyes. "At any rate, I truly never intended to—to break your heart. I honestly thought you'd fallen for Kat." Her heart was pounding and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep the tears at bay. The look in his eyes was killing her.

Tommy felt the old pain well up inside him, all his old insecurities coming back. She hadn't trusted him to stay true to her. "Why? What did I do to make you think that?"

Kim shrugged. "I knew she had a crush on you—I knew you thought she was pretty. I mean, she's everything a guy could want. She's blonde, tall, graceful, has a really sweet personality and she was there for you when I couldn't be."

"I never cheated on you, Kim. Never. I liked Kat, but I was in love with you." Tommy's disbelief and pain faded into anger—an icy, ruthless anger unlike anything he'd ever experienced. "You cheated on me." His voice was very cold.

She flinched as if he'd struck her. "You have to believe me—I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry, Tommy. I wanted to tell you everything after the whole Divatox thing, but you were busy with the tournament and Kat and there wasn't a good time. And the weddings weren't the place for it either."

"You were jealous of Kat?" His voice was marginally warmer, tinged with surprise.

She didn't meet his accusing gaze and didn't see the spark of hope igniting behind the pain in his eyes. "For a while. But then my roommate told me that if we were meant to be, we'd find each other again." She laughed humorlessly. "I guess we weren't."

A fresh wave of pain assaulted him. This wasn't the way things should have ended up for them. "Where is this guy now?" Tommy thought he knew the answer, or at least part of it. The guy sure as heck wasn't here, and his picture had been relegated to the back of her collection. Not a sign of a healthy relationship.

Kim continued staring down at her hands. "We broke up after a few months. My schedule was too hectic and he wanted more from our relationship than I could give him." She shrugged. "Haven't heard from him since."

"So you were single when you and Jason got captured?" Tommy wanted to demand what the guy had wanted that she'd been unable to give him, but the words stuck in his throat.

Kim flinched again. She did not like to remember what she'd said and done under Maligore's influence—in fact, that whole visit was intensely painful. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I told you already. You were with Kat and it just didn't seem like the right time."

Something snapped inside Tommy, a dam that had been walled up too long. "Damn it, Kim, I wouldn't have been with Kat if you hadn't left me!"

"I wouldn't have left you if I thought you still cared!" Kim was beginning to tremble and struggled to keep herself under control.

"I did care, Kim. I cared a lot." Tommy's face was set in hard lines, his dark brown eyes burning.

"How was I supposed to know that! I never heard from you anymore! And all I heard from the others was you and Kat this and you and Kat that!" Kim's hands balled into fists as she stared at him challengingly.

"You broke my heart! I loved you and you just stepped all over me like I was a piece of trash!"

Kim was on her feet in an instant, shaking with anger and a dozen other swirling emotions. "If I hurt you so badly," she ground out, "How come you never told me? Why didn't you pick up the phone and give me a piece of your mind?"

He rose to his feet as well and glared down at her, eyes stinging.

"How do you think I felt," she continued hotly, her voice rising, "waiting by the phone for all those calls that never came? I know you were busy saving the world, but I wasted a lot of evenings waiting for you. I lost sleep over you and agonized over every word I'd said, trying to figure out if I'd said something wrong—if I'd driven you away." She shook her head, not caring that her caramel hair was quickly escaping its confines. "I couldn't take it anymore."

His face was implacable as he stared at her. "Why didn't you at least call me to tell me you were breaking up with me?"

"I did! You were never home! I stopped leaving messages because I knew you were too busy to call and I felt too guilty to let your mom break the news." She furiously wiped tears away, angry with herself for crying in front of him. "I've been living with guilt for seven years and I guess now is the time to say it. I know you'll probably never forgive me—and I don't blame you—but I want you to know that I'm sorry, Tommy. I'm sorry for everything. It was just—" She gestured helplessly, "Just a huge mistake."

Kimberly could see anger, pain, swim through his eyes before all emotion vanished. He stiffened and his entire body stance went rigid. Her hopes of a reconciliation fizzled out…there was no way they could even be friends, not after all this. He was too angry.

"Goodbye, Tommy," she said in a semblance of a calm voice. "Thanks for dinner." She forced herself to meet his eyes. "You've got all the answers now—move on and forget about me. Have a nice life." She turned around and left the room, moving blindly to her bedroom. He was perfectly capable of letting himself out.

Tommy just stood there in the middle of her apartment for a few minutes, frozen in place. His thoughts were a jumble. Things made sense for a few crystalline seconds, and then the very next instant everything crumbled and faded away, leaving him hopelessly confused. On thing was for sure—he couldn't stay here.

He stormed out of the apartment, the door slamming shut behind him.

* * *

Hope y'all enjoyed. Please review and let me know what you thought. Cheers! 


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Power Rangers...if I did, we'd have season box sets already.

_Relationship:_ T/K, mentions of B/K

_Spoilers:_ Zeo, Turbo movie, DT

_AN:_ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

That said, may I present to you, at long last, Chapter 3. I've been on such a high from finishing the rough draft of my book this week that I plowed through the rough draft of this chapter in two days and got it all smoothed out. Thanks for all the reviews, everybody, they've really been encouraging. :smiles:

Special thanks to Princess Kimberly for beta-reading.

Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**

Phone Call

_**Chapter 3**_

Kim heard the door slam and allowed herself to collapse into tears. She cried for a long time, sobbing into her pillows. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, leaving an almost overwhelming sense of relief in its wake.

It was done—she'd finally told Tommy everything. Well, not quite everything—it wasn't like she could come right out and say she was pretty sure she was still in love with him after all these years. She couldn't tell him she was still single and alone because some part of her had been clinging to myriad reunion fantasies.

Later that night, Kim's thoughts took a dark, bitter turn. Curled up in a ball on her bed, clutching a soggy pillow in her arms, she told herself she had been foolish to carry an image of him in her heart all these years. She should have been looking for the right guy to complement her, not comparing them all to Tommy and finding that every single one of them fell short of the mark. She'd been foolish to even hope there was a chance they could get back together. She was even more foolish to think he'd forgive her.

She punched the nearest object—which happened to be her headboard—in frustrated despair and bit her lip at the pain that blossomed in her hand. The real kicker to this entire mess was that spending time with Tommy, however awkward parts of it had been, had reminded her of how wonderful things used to be. She curled tighter into a ball. Why couldn't she move on?

_We can never go back,_ she thought miserably. _Those days are gone. We aren't the same people we were then._

Edging towards morning however, when she was calmer, Kim reflected that things had gone better than she had originally expected. She had been berating herself all night, but to be honest, things weren't as hopeless as she had thought.

Tommy hadn't said he hated her. He hadn't said he wished they'd never met. He hadn't even said he never wanted to see her again. It wasn't a lot of comfort, but it was something to be thankful for, and right now, she was taking whatever scraps of comfort she could find.

* * *

Tommy didn't remember the drive back to the motel. He barely remembered letting himself in to his room. Everything Kim had said was running through his mind; the words streamed parallel to each other and then collided at dizzying speed. 

The thought that she could possibly think he hadn't cared for her anymore cut deeply. More deeply, in truth, than the fact that she had left him for someone else.

He ran a hand over his hair distractedly. After pacing for an hour or two—and no doubt driving the poor soul trying to sleep in the room beneath him up the wall—he had collapsed on the bed. Currently, he was staring up at the ceiling. The air conditioner in the corner was on and the drone of the machine kept the room from being so deathly quiet.

What she had said about wondering what she had done wrong and agonizing over every word resonated deep inside him. He knew exactly how she had felt—he'd felt the same way. How ironic they had both been going though hell for nothing.

_I should have called her. I should have found out what was really going on._ He'd thought that several times over the past seven years, but now he knew he really should have listened to himself. Perhaps if he had things would have turned out differently.

_If you hadn't been so damn insecure, Oliver._ It had been insecurity—and fear—more than anything else that had prevented him from fighting for her. He knew that. He'd known it for years.

Tommy lay there for a few more hours, mulling over everything. It saddened him that they could never go back to the way things were. There were so many things he'd do differently. So many things he'd have told her. Maybe then they wouldn't have ended up where they were now—alone and miserable.

_Well, ok,_ he admitted to himself,_ maybe "miserable" is a bit of a stretch_. But still, living alone, with no special person in his life, was not where Tommy had pictured himself at this stage seven years before. Truth be told, he had known since he was eighteen that he wanted to marry Kim. He hadn't told anyone—after all, he knew he'd merely have heard he was too young to know yet—but that had been his intention. They were kindred spirits.

Of course, she would never know the depths of his affections, because he never got the chance to tell her. And it was too late now, wasn't it? Entirely too late.

They'd both made too many mistakes.

Besides, it looked like Kim was happy where she was. And hadn't he wanted the answers so he could get on with his life? Well, here was his chance.

Just after dawn, Tommy sat up and reached for the phone. He'd had all night to think about it and he knew what he was going to say. He nodded to himself. After he called her, he was going to go back to Reefside. That was where he belonged now.

* * *

Kimberly was deep in an exhausted sleep when the phone rang, but her answering machine faithfully recorded every word. When she awoke later that day and dragged herself out of bed, eternally grateful it was Saturday, and bemoaning her puffy, tear-swollen eyes, she headed straight for the phone. 

Her sleep-addled mind kept pointing out that Trini would know what to do—Trini always knew what to do—and therefore she was the best person to call. She'd gotten half-way though dialing the number before she remembered that Trini was dead. Kim nearly dissolved into tears again but they tapered off when she realized she had a message.

She hit the play button on the answering machine and leaned against the wall, chewing on her thumb. Tommy's voice filled the quiet room and a fresh wave of pain assaulted her. Tommy was too much of a gentleman to tell her exactly what he thought of her, but she wasn't looking forward to hearing what he could say. After all, he'd had all night to think about it, and frankly…Kim felt on some levels she deserved it.

"Kim," he said with an audible sigh, "I want you to know that I do forgive you. I'm sorry too. I should have called, should have tried to figure out what was going on. I let you down and I hurt you. I'm sorry for that." He paused. "It was great to see you again—you look like you're doing fine." He paused again, aware that time was running out. "I'm going back to Reefside. I got the answers I needed. Here's hoping we can both move on with our lives. Take care, Kim." The answering machine beeped once, signifying the end of the message, and went silent.

Numbly, Kim collapsed at the table and buried her head in her hands. That was that. It was all over. He'd forgiven her and he'd even apologized for his part in the whole mess. She didn't have to fear seeing him again--not that it was likely she'd ever see him again. She should be happy now, right?

The brunette glanced into her future and saw the days stretch out before her, each one pretty much the same as the rest. No new people, no chance for romance or love, just long, empty, lonely days that blended into each other. She'd gotten to live her dreams—she'd won gold at the Pan Globals, silver at the Olympics, and was now a successful fashion designer, but more and more these days she was having a hard time believe it had been worth everything she'd lost.

With trembling fingers, she reached for the phone and dialed Aisha's number. Aisha was the one who had opened up this can of worms; she could help deal with emotional fallout.

* * *

When Tommy got home, he buried himself in his lab, trying to forget the whole thing. They were worlds apart now. She didn't need him…and he…didn't need her. The only thing that mattered now was making sure he was the best science teacher the kids of the senior class at Reefside High had ever had. And if Mesogog had survived and ever reared his ugly head again, Tommy would be ready for him. One way or another. 

_Yeah, right, Oliver. Just keep telling yourself that. Face it—you're no closer to getting over her than you ever were._

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Kim's mind kept replaying her evening with Tommy. The fight was pushed to the back of her mind in favor of the enjoyable—if somewhat tense—meal they'd shared. It hadn't quite been as comfortable as it used to be, but spending time with him had lost none of its charm. 

She'd spent several hours on the phone with Aisha that Saturday, and while the former yellow ranger had been encouraging, there had only been so much Kim could confide in her. She couldn't even put into words the nebulous thoughts and emotions still running rampant inside her.

Aisha still thought Kim had a chance. She pointed out that obviously a part of Tommy still cared.

Kim was doubtful of that, but her friend's words took root in her mind. She finally came to the conclusion that she at least wanted to be friends with him. They'd been good friends once—even if they had been sweethearts too—and it was entirely possible that their moving on with their lives could include being on speaking terms again.

She'd have to take things slowly, but that was all right. The older she got, the faster time flew. A card here and there, perhaps a short phone call on special occasions, and maybe they could get to know each other again. A tiny flicker of hope began to burn inside her.

Suddenly the days ahead of her didn't seem so lonely anymore.

* * *

Well, what'd you think? There's just one chapter left now. The epilogue should wrap everything up quite nicely--I promised y'all a happy ending and you're going to get it. 

Don't forget to review. They stir creative juices. :smiles:

Cheers!


	5. Epilogue: Part 1

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Power Rangers...if I did, we'd have season box sets already.

_Relationship:_ T/K, mentions of B/K

_Spoilers:_ Zeo, Turbo movie, DT

_AN:_ I know, I know, it's been an insanely long time since I last updated. All I can say is that the epilogue of this fic has been giving me fits for six months. I've rewritten it about four or five different times and I finally got this half of it to the point where I'm happy with it.

Thank y'all so much for having patience with me, and thank you for taking the time to review. They've been really encouraging.

Now, without further ado, on to the chapter! Enjoy!

Special thanks to Princess Kimberly for beta-reading.

* * *

_**Phone Call**_

_**Epilogue: Part 1**_

_June 2005_

There was something to be said for the giddy feeling that always permeated the first day of summer vacation. It was a euphoric wave of bliss mingling freedom with all the anticipation wrought by memories of ice cream, the beach, and days of glorious sunshine. Time seemed to slow and stretch, letting the day drift leisurely by with promise of a welcome break from the frantic hustle and bustle of the rest of the year. The summer would soon slip past, leaving everyone to wonder where it had gone, but that first day would be treasured.

Tommy leaned against his kitchen counter, slowly sipping his coffee, enjoying the least stressful morning he'd had in a long time. Cheery June sunlight streamed through the kitchen windows, casting a golden glow about the entire room, and he smiled, unable to hold back the swell of excitement that surged through him.

No more early, early mornings, no more rowdy students, no more pop quizzes to prepare or papers to grade.

Yes, he was definitely going to enjoy this summer off.

Not only that, but Mesogog was gone for good, Anton Mercer and Elsa Randall were both back to normal, and he was retired from rangerdom.

Again.

Hopefully this time for keeps.

It wasn't that he didn't love being a ranger, because he did. It was just that this last time around brought home the full weight of the undertaking and the responsibilities that went with the job. It was something Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent hadn't quite fully grasped—just as he had failed to grasp the magnitude of being a ranger years before. None of them had realized at first how dangerous their lives really were and how many lives hung in the balance.

Tommy's thoughts of late had begun to turn towards starting a family, but it was a dream he would never even consider while he still wore a morpher. Sure, he was almost twenty-six and still single, but what was that compared to the risk of something happening to his family because he was the Black Dino Ranger? After all, Mesogog had known all along just where to hit him. Bringing someone into his life could have—probably would have, given his luck with relationships—been an unmitigated disaster.

Besides, given the alarming frequency with which he found himself sucked back into rangerdom, any potential candidates for the future Mrs. Thomas Oliver had to be able to handle a few…surprises.

Tommy let out a chuckle at the thought and poured himself another cup of coffee. As he stirred in a generous amount of creamer, he reflected that Anton and Elsa certainly wouldn't have that particular problem. They had been seeing a great deal of each other the past year and it came as no surprise to Tommy when he learned Anton had finally proposed. Tommy's smile broadened as he took a cautious sip. _Perfect._ Ok, so Hayley had to clue him in before he realized what was going on between his two former enemies, but even he could see that villains or not, the two of them were suited to each other.

It was, he thought absently, the kind of story Kim would have been delighted to hear.

_Kim._

Tommy's heart gave a lurch and his smile faded away. Glancing down at his coffee cup, he swirled the contents absently. He had struggled to put her out of his mind, but it hadn't worked very well. He'd spent a lot of time thinking about her over the past year, wondering if he had made the right choice. It had by no means been an easy choice, but he was sufficiently past it to realize that arbitrarily cutting her out of his life because he thought it would best for both of them might have been a bit presumptuous.

Of course, it had also come down to him protecting himself. He knew, deep down, that they could become friends again. It would be awkward, maybe even a little painful at times, but they could do it.

He could get sucked in all over again.

_Has it really been a year?_ Time had flown by so quickly. They had exchanged Christmas cards, email addresses and a few short, rather impersonal messages, but they hadn't actually talked since her call on his birthday. Tommy drained the last of his coffee and set the cup gently in the sink.

Kimberly had called him several times over the past year, but between school, Ranger duties, and then being encased in amber for a few weeks, he had never had—or made, he admitted guiltily—the chance to return her calls. Hayley had dealt with a few of them before Kim ceased trying to reach him.

_Hayley._

Tommy straightened and frowned as his refrigerator door. Maybe Hayley was the reason Kim had stopped calling. The former pink ranger was persistent; it was one of her most endearing—and occasionally irritating—qualities. He knew she wouldn't have given up unless there was sufficient reason in her mind to render throwing in the towel an acceptable action.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Tommy rejected it as irrational. _Nah. Get a grip, Oliver._ Kim knew he and Hayley weren't anything more than good friends. He'd told her that much himself, hadn't he? He ran a hand through his hair, absently standing the dark strands on end.

The most ironic thing about the entire situation was that with everything that had happened over the past year—particularly Trent's situation and the bout of unpleasant memories it brought back—he'd found himself wanting to talk to her so badly. She'd been there for him through some of the roughest patches of his life and the entire thing with the Dino Rangers and Mesogog was something he knew she'd understand. Out of all his friends, Jason included, Kim's name was the one that kept popping up at the top of his list. She would never know how many times he had picked up the phone to call her, only to stop short of actually dialing the number.

He knew she would understand, even after everything that had happened between them. Oddly enough, that fact made his choice a little easier. As much as he had wanted to talk to her, he hadn't wanted to risk dragging her into the middle of the war between the Rangers and Mesogog. The dinosaur overlord would have found out about her one way or another.

He let out a short, rueful laugh. The truth of it was that even now he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if something happened to her again. One Muriantharis incident had been quite enough, thank you.

Briefly, Tommy wondered if Kim was still single. Her sporadic mails hadn't mentioned anyone, but why should they? It wasn't exactly like they were under obligation to say whether or not they were dating—it would have made the whole thing that much more awkward. He could, at least, rest assured she hadn't gotten married. The Ranger grapevine being what it was, he seriously doubted he could have missed something like that.

He let out a sigh. The weeks he'd spent trapped inside that horrid amber shell had given him time to do a great deal of thinking. Kim might have thought she was making it easy for him by saying he should forget her—it was difficult to say—but he'd tried that route before. She didn't realize that the odds of him actually putting her out of his mind were about the same as Zedd willingly surrendering back in the day. _I'd probably have to be dead before I forget her._

Tommy's dark eyes strayed to the cell phone lying on the kitchen table next to his car keys. He _could_ call her and say hello. He wouldn't be risking her life by associating with her anymore—not, he thought with a sudden smile, that a little thing like that would have ever stopped Kim anyway. Still, it was time to decide what he really and truly wanted now that he didn't have to worry about being a ranger anymore.

He glanced at the clock on the opposite wall, drumming his fingers against the smooth surface of the counter. _Quarter to nine._ She'd probably be en route to work by now and he didn't have her work or cell number. It was only her home phone number he'd managed to memorize.

Tommy chuckled wryly. _First day of summer vacation and I have nothing to do because all my friends are at work._

He shot another look at his cell phone, eying it speculatively…until a silver glint caught his gaze. His gaze swiveled to focus on his keys and an idea came to him. It was crazy and spur-of-the-moment, but he considered it just the same, turning it over and over in his mind.

_I _will_ call Kim,_ he decided abruptly. _Just not yet._

A moment later, the kitchen was empty. Both phone and keys were gone from the table. The sun, deprived of its playthings, crept across the room in search of another shiny trinket.

* * *

It was times like these that truly made Kim appreciate how wonderful it was to have her own office. Sure, it was cramped, but it had a floor-to-ceiling window and, more importantly, her colleagues couldn't hear her muttering to herself. Her latest assignment was to sort through a massive batch of designs submitted by recommended young hopefuls praying they'd be picked up to do further work. Needless to say, she'd found some doozies over the course of the morning. 

"Whoever came up with this dress idea must have been absolutely smashed." Kim shook her head, not caring her brown hair was coming loose from its clasp and discarded the drawing with a practiced flick of her wrist. Colored entirely in shades of fluorescent orange and violent hot pink, the dress looked like a cross between a 20's flapper number and a bunch of randomly attached flotation devices. "I can't believe somebody actually thought this would sell."

Glancing at the stack awaiting her perusal, she was relieved to see it diminished by more than half. She stacked the piles of sketches that showed potential into a carefully labeled box and set them off to one side. As she gathered together the rest of the papers scattered across the surface of her desk, she found a birthday card lodged beneath several hideous sketches and her breath hitched in her throat.

Tommy had sent it to her back in February and she'd kept it propped up by her sketchpad ever since. She hadn't actually looked at it in a long time however—it was one of those things she saw every day without really noticing. She handled it gently, reading the brief note within before snapping it closed. With a sigh, she set it back onto her desk. _No sense going there._

Operation Tommy, sad to say, had not gone nearly as well as she and Aisha had hoped. Sure they'd exchanged a few emails, but she was painfully aware they were carefully couched missives that could have just as easily belonged to two strangers. The reconciliation she and Aisha dreamed up just hadn't happened.

Kim rested her arms on the desk and buried her face in them. Calling him hadn't worked out so well either. She'd never tried to reach him during school hours, knowing full well it wouldn't be a good idea to bother him while he was working. Unfortunately, the only thing she'd ever reached on his cell phone was his voicemail. After leaving a few messages, she gave up and focused on his house phone.

That idea, she reflected wryly, closing her eyes and resolving to take a couple minutes' of a break before she subjected herself to more couture catastrophes, had fared no better. Tommy never seemed to be at home in the afternoons or even the evenings and several times his house phone had been answered by a woman identifying herself as Hayley.

After the third time Hayley answered, Kim gave up. Whatever Tommy had said the year before—_Has it really been a year?_ she thought in shock—things between himself and Hayley were apparently different now if the woman was answering his phone.

Kim refused to let this dampen her spirits, though she could often feel a wave of surrender hovering at the edges of her mind. Even if he and Hayley _were_ seeing each other, they could still be friends, right? It didn't mean she had to be completely cut out of his life, did it?

She was so absorbed in thought that it took her a few seconds to realize her phone was ringing. She sat up and answered it, reaching for another pile of designs with her free hand. "Kim Hart speaking."

"Hey, Kim."

She froze, her brown eyes going wide. "Tommy?" she asked carefully, not quite trusting her ears. Sure, it sounded like Tommy, but her mind _could _be playing tricks on her.

"The one and only. How are you?"

Kim blinked. This was such a…normal conversation. Not quite what she'd been expecting in the back of her mind. "I'm good. How are you doing?"

Hope suddenly blossomed inside her. He had called her—he had actually called her! At work, no less…which meant he'd had to find her number. Surely this was a good sign. It had taken him a year to decide if he ever wanted to speak to her again, but it was better than never.

"I'm doing really well. Happy school's out."

"I'll bet."

Tommy hesitated. _There's no point in beating around the bush,_ he told himself, _You've never been good at it._ Aloud, he said, "Look. I know our last meeting didn't go so well, but I'm glad we had a chance to get everything out in the open."

Kim was silent, digesting his words and not daring to read anything into them.

"I've had a lot of time to think lately," Tommy continued, _More than you'll ever know_, "and I realized that I've miss you a lot. I miss being able to talk to you like we used to."

Kim found herself unable to breath for a few seconds. _Am I really hearing what I'm hearing?_ she wondered dazedly.

"I'd like us to be good friends again, Kim." The words were said quietly.

Kim's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.

Tommy interpreted her silence the wrong way and felt a band close around his heart. He'd waited too long again. "I understand if you don't feel the same way." He laughed once, a lost sound in it that cut straight to Kim's heart. "This shouldn't be so hard," he muttered.

Kim finally found her voice. "Tommy—"

He cut her off. "Look, it's ok, Kim. I told you I understand."

"No, you don't!" Her voice rose several octaves and she flushed, hoping no one outside her office could hear her. "You just surprised me, that's all." She ducked her head shyly, glad he couldn't see her. "I've…uh…actually been hoping you would call sometime."

On the other end of the phone, Tommy's heart skipped a beat. "You have?"

Kim laughed. "Yeah. You aren't the only one who's had time to think. I've missed you too." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear nervously.

"Look," Tommy said suddenly, "I know it's short notice, but can you get the rest of the afternoon off?" He smiled wryly, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "I'd like to try the whole dinner thing again."

Kim's heart began to pound and she clutched the phone in a suddenly sweaty hand. "You're driving to Los Angeles?" She was mortified to hear her voice rise again.

Tommy chuckled. "Look out your window, Kim."

She glanced over her shoulder at the window automatically, where the first rays of afternoon sunlight were starting to peek through. Then, moving on legs that felt like wobbly jelly, she crossed the office, phone in hand, and peered outside.

"There?" Tommy asked, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Look down."

"Yes—Tommy!" Kim's hand flew to her mouth as she took in a tiny figure in a white shirt waving up at her. She staggered across the office again, fumbling for her chair, and sank heavily into it. "You came to Los Angeles?"

"Sure did." A bit of satisfied smugness bled into his voice. "I wasn't exactly planning to take 'no' for an answer."

Kim felt tears well up in her eyes and blinked them back. "Oh, Tommy."

"So, can you get the afternoon off?"

She grinned, a wave of exuberance sweeping over her. "I'll be down in a couple minutes."

"I'll hold you to it," he tossed back. "See ya, Kim."

Kim hung up the phone and dashed out of her office. Two seconds later, she burst back in and scooped up her purse before teetering off again. Her supervisor didn't fully realize what had hit her until a good half-hour after Hurricane Kim danced out of her office, but she hadn't seen Kim so enthused about something in…well…forever, so one afternoon off probably wouldn't hurt. The brunette had unused vacation time anyway, and it wasn't like her assignment of separating the wheat form the chaff was going to hold them up.

Kimberly flew down the steps of the building, passing into the bright afternoon sunlight. She caught sight of Tommy's trim figure immediately and had to remind herself that she couldn't very well go throwing her arms around his neck like she would have done a few years before.

She skidded to a halt in front of him and they stared at each other for a few seconds before Tommy smiled and held out his arms. "Surprised to see me?" he asked, teasingly.

Kim gave him a tentative hug. "You have no idea."

He grinned. "Well, I do believe we have some catching up to do, Kimberly Hart. You're not going to believe some of the things I have to tell you."

She laughed, brown eyes dancing suddenly. "Knowing you? Definitely."

Tommy laughed too. "Guess some things don't change, do they?"

Kim glanced down at the concrete sidewalk before meeting his eyes a little more shyly than before. "Guess not."

They were oblivious to the steady trickle of humanity flowing around them; some ignoring them, others hiding indulgent smiles, and the rest giving them an interested look before going on their way. Everything around them had faded away and the world narrowed until there was just room enough for the two of them.

Tommy was the first to break the spell. "So…an early dinner?" he asked with a charming smile.

An answering smile suffused Kim's face, casing her brown eyes to sparkle. "Sounds like a plan to me." She tucked her arm through his instinctively and they strolled along the sidewalk. "Have any place in mind?"

"I'm thinking something Italian."

"Ooh…garlic bread…yum. I like it."

As they neared the spot where Tommy had parked his Jeep, he asked suddenly, "What about your car, Kim?"

She stopped short. "Oh, boy. Forgot about that." She flashed him a dazzling smile. "Well, how about I drive over to my apartment and you follow me? We can head to dinner from there."

He nodded. "Ok. I'll be right behind you." _Don't think for a second I'm going to let you get away again, Kimberly Hart._

Something of his thoughts showed in the suddenly determined look on his face and Kim felt her heart skip a few beats. Her breathing picked up and she fought to keep a blush off her cheeks as she headed in the direction of her own car, conscious of his eyes on her. "Shouldn't take long," she called back over her shoulder.

Tommy watched her until she was out of sight before smiling and hopping into the Jeep. He had a good feeling about this evening.

* * *

...and they're off! I was originally going to end the story here, but it didn't seem right so I've extended things. I'm working on rewriting the end of the next chapter, and then this story will finally be complete. :smiles: 

Thanks so much for reading, and please let me know what you thought.

Cheers!

* * *


	6. Epilogue: Part 2

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Power Rangers, although I will own season box sets as soon as they appear on the market this summer. :D

_Relationship:_ T/K, mentions of B/K

_Spoilers:_ Zeo, Turbo movie, DT

_AN:_Needless to say, it was not supposed to take me five years to finish this fic. *sighs* I had the bulk of it written, but the bridging scenes gave me fits for...well..._years_, and I'm learning that I still have a ways to go when it comes to balancing multiple writing projects.

I do have some good news, however. _Bad Faith_, the first book in my sci-fi series, _The Guardians_, came out in September! I'm thrilled to pieces about it. :D (Details are on my profile, if anyone's interested.)

Forgive me for making most of you wait so long to find out what happens to Tommy and Kim! Hope you enjoy!

_Edit: Thanks to NANLIT for pointing out an inconsistency with Kim's medals. It's been fixed. :)_

* * *

**Phone Call**

**Epilogue, Part 2**

Dinner was everything Tommy had hoped and more. The Italian restaurant they'd found had a cozier feel to it than the Greek place they'd been before and it was much more appropriate for two people trying to reconnect. Especially when both of those people were making a conscious effort to be agreeable and charming.

Actually, Tommy couldn't remember having this much fun in a long time. Conversation came easily to both of them and though they ran into awkward patches here and there, they didn't let it become overwhelming. Just as they had done a year before, they found themselves slipping into familiar patterns. Changes were accepted, if marveled over, and Tommy found himself wondering in the back of his mind why he hadn't done this earlier. The reasons flooded into his mind, beneath Kim's bright chatter, but they didn't seem as dramatic in the cozy atmosphere of the restaurant.

Kim had been a little edgy at first, but she relaxed as the evening progressed. In fact, as Tommy sat across from her, it seemed to him she had taken on a glow…just like he remembered her doing before.

They were both a little older, a little wiser, but her bright, sparkling, caring nature hadn't changed in all these years. And so he smiled at her, taking another sip of his wine, not quite realizing his smile still made her melt.

It was everything he had hoped for, and he never wanted it to end.

* * *

Kim couldn't remember having this much fun in a long time either. It was so easy to put memories of their last, ill-fated meal together out of her mind. There were no issues to skirt around, no answers that needed to be given—save perhaps one—and she wasn't prepared to ask it yet.

Being able to laugh and joke with Tommy like this made her wonder just what she had been missing all these years. Friendship, for sure, though she knew, deep down, they had never been 'just friends'. Maybe it would have been different…

She shook head and forked up the last bit of her pasta. _Don't go there, Kim. It's over and done with._

"Something wrong?"

Kim shook her head again, cheeks flushing lightly. "I was just thinking," she said airily.

His curiosity piqued, Tommy leaned towards her. "About what?"

She swallowed and waved a hand. "It wasn't anything important."

He continued to stare at her.

"Honestly, it wasn't!" Kim fought the urge to squirm.

"Right."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't even pull that one on me, Tommy Oliver. I'm wise to you."

The beginnings of a smirk hovering at the corners of his mouth, Tommy shook his head. "Hey, I've had years to come up with new tactics."

Kim laughed. "Uh, huh. Sure you have." Her brown eyes sparkled at him knowingly.

"Well, I guess you're just going to find out, aren't you?"

His voice was low and husky and it sent chills down her spine. Cheeks flushing again, unable to restrain a smile, Kim deliberately leaned back in her seat. "I guess I am."

"Something tells me I'm going to be visiting Los Angeles more often."

* * *

The words slipped out before he could stop them. They hung between the two of them, slowly crystallizing into…something…he wasn't sure what. The thought of taking them back didn't even occur to him. He meant it. "I'd like to visit you, Kim. I want to see you again."

"You're not mad at me?"

Tommy shook his head, his dark eyes never leaving hers. "It's over. I've moved on, you've moved on…we've grown up."

Kim nodded slowly, her throat constricting slightly. After a moment of contemplative silence, she raised her nearly empty wineglass. "To new beginnings," she said quietly.

Tommy gently clinked his glass against hers. "To new beginnings."

* * *

The ride back to Kim's apartment was filled with quiet laughter and contemplative silences. They were both surprised by how quickly the evening disappeared and found themselves wishing they had a little more time. Every once in a while, they would look over at the same time and meet each other's eyes and just as quickly smile and look away.

All too soon, they pulled into Kim's parking lot. Tommy hopped out and opened the door for her, feeling more than seeing her answering smile. They stood staring at each other for a few seconds, before Tommy shut the car door. The loud clunk echoed through the still night air, breaking the spell that had fallen over them.

"I'll walk you up."

"That'd be great," Kim told him, tucking her arm though his as they set off.

Tommy desperately wanted to say something—anything—but it felt like his entire vocabulary had suddenly leaked out his ears, leaving him with an empty brain. He wanted her to know how much he'd enjoyed the evening—how glad he was she hadn't turned him down, and how great it was to finally be normal again (at least as normal as he was ever likely to be) but he just couldn't find the words.

Little did he know Kim was experiencing the same problem.

When they finally reached her door, Kim pulled out her key and then met his eyes. "I—Thank you so much. I had a wonderful evening, Tommy."

"So did I." He gave her an easy grin and said in what he hoped was a casual voice, "We'll have to do it again."

She smiled, trying to squash the surge of giddiness that threatened to overwhelm her at his words. "Yeah, we will." She unlocked her door and hesitated, her hand on the knob. "Are you driving back tonight or are you going to stay in a motel?"

Tommy shrugged. "I'll probably get a room. I don't really want to drive back tonight."

Kim nodded and they stood in silence for a few awkward moments.

Realizing they could be in the hallway all night, Tommy stepped closer and enveloped her in a hug. "Take care, Kimberly."

"You too." She pushed her door opened and he turned to go. Watching him walk away, a sudden idea hit her, and she bit her lip as she considered it. "Tommy!" she blurted out.

He stopped in his tracks and swiveled to face her, one eye brow raised questioningly.

Kim motioned to her apartment. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Tommy smiled. That was a no-brainer. "I'd love some coffee." He followed her inside with a mental shrug. So what if he wasn't going to get to sleep until four a.m.? Who cared?

Kim got the coffee pot going and they sat down in the living room. Tommy watched as she kicked her shoes off and curled up on the couch. It was, he noticed with a sense of déjà vu, the same spot she'd occupied the last time he was here.

She flashed him a smile over her coffee mug. "So, Tommy, you wouldn't tell me in the restaurant, but I figure you can tell me now. What's the real reason you were incommunicado for a couple of months?"

Tommy felt a wry smile tug at the corners of his mouth. Trust Kim to remember...although, the fact that she was curious made him feel strangely elated. "Well," he said deliberately, setting his mug down on the coffee table, "you're probably not going to believe this, but..."

* * *

Several hours later, Kim was still shaking her head in astonishment. He'd told her everything—the whole story, start to finish. How he'd gotten involved with Anton, the island being destroyed, being swept back into rangerdom, and how they'd dealt with Mesogog.

"Wow."

Tommy laughed. "You've said that about five times now, Kim," he said teasingly.

She shrugged. "I can't think of any other words to describe it. You, a science teacher, being the leader of a ranger team made up of your students. Talk about a situation with a potential for awkwardness!"

Tommy shook his head. "You have no idea. I'm just happy they've all graduated now." He'd moved out of his chair and over the opposite end of the couch at some point. Kim was facing him, her arms locked round her knees. Her hair was falling out of its ponytail and he watched her stifle a yawn.

"Sorry," she said, "I bought the comfiest couch I could find and unfortunately, sometimes it puts me to sleep."

"It's ok." Tommy glanced at his watch. "It's quarter to two. I probably better let you get some sleep."

Kim laughed. "Who cares about sleep? Tomorrow's Saturday." Her smile faded, turning into a hesitant, slightly nervous frown. "I have a confession to make."

"Oh, really?" he asked with a grin that belied the sudden tightening in his chest.

"Yeah. I watched you race."

Tommy froze, his coffee cup half-way to his lips. "What?" he asked blankly.

"You were really good, Tommy. Really good."

Realization smacked him upside the head and he stared at her in amazement. "You watched my races? How?" A wave of mingled surprise and pleasure coursed through him. His racing career had picked up _after_ they parted ways.

A faint pink tinge graced Kim's cheeks and she shrugged. "I was never able to watch them when they aired, but a friend of mine was kind enough to tape them for me."

"Why?"

Kim bit her lip and shrugged. "Because you were still my friend, even if we weren't together anymore, and…"

He stared at her, inviting her to continue.

"I had to make sure you were okay. I mean, I knew how dangerous racing is—I didn't want to see you get hurt." She laughed in embarrassment. "Not that there was anything I could have done about it."

Tommy looked down at his own coffee and then glanced back up at Kim. Knowing she had still cared enough to watch him race emboldened him. "I have a confession of my own to make." It amazed him how smoothly the words came out.

Kim looked at him, slightly surprised. "Oh, really?"

He nodded. "I watched you win gold at the Pan Globals and silver at the Olympics. I wasn't there," he hastened to add, "I just saw it on TV. You were—" he swallowed, thinking back. "You were amazing. I knew you could do it, Kim." _I let you go to follow your dream and you did it._

Kim blushed and waved a hand. "Well, I couldn't let you guys down."

Tommy was silent for a moment. "I wish I'd asked Zordon to let me visit you in Florida. I had a freakin' teleportation system at my fingertips and I never even bothered to _ask_."

His voice was quiet, almost bitter, and Kim laid her hand on his arm without even thinking. "Nobody could have known things would play out the way they did."

"I never even _tried_."

Kim just looked at him, waiting for him to open everything up again.

He didn't.

At least, not entirely. Tommy met her gaze. "You have no idea how much I've thought about this over the past year. Seriously. I keep wondering how things would have been if I'd just made an effort…"

"If I hadn't written that letter," Kim said quietly. She held his gaze. "Tommy, we could beat ourselves up for our mistakes for the rest of our lives or we can just decide to get over it and move on. Hopefully, we won't make those mistakes again."

He sighed. "I know. I just—I just never thought this is how things would end up. We were a team. We were friends. We trusted each other with our lives…and now…look at us."

Kim stared at her hands. "I know. We stopped talking."

"I know things have been hard since Trini died."

She let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob and set her coffee cup down, locking her arms around her knees. "I still miss her," she confessed. "The last time you and I talked, I nearly called her—before I…remembered."

It was Tommy's turn to reach out and lay his hand on her arm. "I think she'd be happy we're talking again."

Kim gave him a watery smile and hastily wiped her eyes. "I think so too. She'd probably give us grief for taking so long."

Tommy smiled. "Yeah." He glanced down at his nearly empty cup and then at his watch. It really was late. "Well, I'd better get going. Again."

Kim giggled.

* * *

Tommy stared down at Kimberly as they faced each other outside her door. He didn't want to leave—didn't want this to end—but he knew that just wasn't possible. He also knew this was nothing like the last time they had parted. The thought made him smile.

Kim arched an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"I had a great time with you tonight."

It was her turn to smile. "I did too. Thank you for dinner."

Tommy took a deep breath. "Kim, I don't want to go back to where we were."

Her brown eyes were perfectly steady as they met his, but…he thought he saw a flicker of regret flash through them. She stilled, as if preparing herself for whatever he had to say next.

"We've got something," he continued quickly. "We've always had something." He shook his head. "I don't want to bring back old ghosts—I'd just like to—" he swallowed and reached for her hands. "Kim, I want you to be part of my life again. I want us to be friends based on who we are now instead of who we were then."

"I'd like that too." She offered him a smile, but her eyes had lost a little of their sparkle. "Friends."

Something in Tommy's chest loosened. His eyes drifted to her mouth as a sudden and powerful urge to kiss her struck him. He'd come all the way to Los Angeles from Reefside to see her, because he had finally—finally!—figured out that he wanted her to be part of his life and now… Now he knew he wasn't imagining the spark that still seemed to glow between them. _We could never be just friends._

Nothing was holding him back but himself. He hadn't tried to talk Zordon into letting him visit her when she went to Florida, and he hadn't even tried to fight for her after receiving that letter. _For once in your life, Oliver,_ he told himself, _just go for it._

Before Kim could say anything, Tommy leaned forward and kissed her.

It felt like coming home.

The realization almost brought tears to his eyes. He raised a hand to cup the side of her face, delighting in the way her hands came up to rest on his chest as she leaned into him. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers and smiled. "I had to know," he confessed quietly.

Kim arched an eyebrow and the corners of her mouth turned up in a shy smile. "And?"

Tommy grinned. "You still make me weak in the knees."

"Good," she said with a bright laugh, threading her fingers through his. "Because it's mutual." Her fingers tightened around his. "I'm really glad you came, Tommy."

He reached out his free hand to tuck a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. "Me too." He bent his head to kiss her once more and then stepped away." See you later."

Kim's face lit with a slow, sweet smile that gave him the soaring feeling he remembered so well. "Yes." She laughed again. "Come by after you wake up and I'll make us lunch."

"I'd like that."

They stood smiling at each other for a long moment, and then Kim giggled. "You do realize we could be here all night doing this, don't you? Or morning…or whatever."

"Time just flies when you're around, Kim." Tommy winked at her. "Good night, Beautiful. Sweet dreams." The old nickname came easily to him.

Her smile deepened. "Good night, Handsome."

**~Fin~**

* * *

And there you have it, folks! I hope you enjoyed!


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